1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to cleaning devices, and more particularly, to an improved cleaning and pickup device for more effective cleaning and dumping of picked-up debris.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The cleaning device art is old and crowded and includes many types of devices, such as dust pans, to pick up debris brushed into them. However, known dust pans have a tendency to leak dust or debris and are not easily unloaded into a trash receptacle. Therefore, much effort has been directed toward enabling the known devices to more effectively pick up debris and to be emptied into trash containers.
Although some of the known devices work better than others, they still have not solved this problem, and, there still exists a need in the art for a device to more efficiently pick up debris and to more easily empty the picked-up debris into a trash container. There also exists a need to manufacture such a device an inexpensive and efficient manner and to easily stack such devices for shipping and storage.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved and simplified cleaning device. It is a particular object of the present invention to provide an improved and simplified debris pickup device in the general form of a funnel. It is a further particular object of the present invention to provide an improved and simplified debris pick-up device having a pair of angled and tapered side walls secured to a bottom plate, a tapered top plate with a handle incorporated therein, and a rotatable rear door for ease in emptying debris swept into the device.
These and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing a funnel-type device for use in picking up debris. The device includes a generally funnel-shaped body having a top handle on an upper surface and a pair of tapered and angled side walls secured between the upper surface and a lower surface between a wider front edge and a narrower rear edge. A door is rotatably secured to the upper surface between the front edge and the rear edge of the upper and lower surfaces. The door includes a trigger for operation of the door to empty the device of debris held therein, when the device is turned and held over a trash container.